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enzelffxiv · 16 hours ago

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dreaming in the darkness.

#self reblog

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enzelffxiv · 18 hours ago

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"Ketenbraena...Thy presence here would indicate the Exarch hath come a step closer to his goal, but…"

"But? Who's the 'Exarch'?"

Urianger's expression grew somber. " 'Tis a tale that will take some time to relate. I would suggest taking thine ease for a moment."

More than happy to oblige, Keten dropped their weight onto the closest chair with a bit more force than necessary. It creaked.

"Either way, I'm starving," they said, and unceremoniously stuffed a pastry into their mouth. Urianger said nothing, simply watched with his eyebrows raised. "This is where you've all been this whole time?" Keten asked after a moment. Urianger inclined his head slightly.

"Indeed. I shall reveal all the details forthwith, however…" he seemed a bit concerned. "If thou wouldst first enlighten me as to how thou farest, separated from Imry by the Rift--"

Keten waved a gauntlet at him. "I'm not. She's here somewhere. I just can't pinpoint--wait, the Rift?"

"Imry is here?" he said at the same time. They both fell silent for a moment.

"She must be. I thought it was a dream, at first, but I could see through her eyes for a moment. She's with Akiv'a, and the twins…there's someone else, but I didn't recognize them."

"It must be the Exarch." This was spoken with obvious relief. "So, they have finally arrived…"

Keten frowned. The food had energized them, more than food usually did, and they took a moment to look around the room again.

"The two of them went to investigate...something about that voice telling them to go to the Crystal Tower. I was in the Rising Stones keeping watch. And then…" They shrugged. "I was here."

"I see. The physical separation was maintained in the journey. It must be the connection between thy soul and hers...how fortuitous."

"Fortuitous? It hurt like hell," Keten grumbled.

"Ah, apologies. 'Twas not mine intent to trivialize such an ordeal. But that explains much."

"About what?"

He tapped a finger to his temple, as if to arrange his thoughts.

" 'Tis merely a theory, of course. Unlike her dearest companion, Imry is not versed in the arts of summoning, and as we verified, thou art no creature of the Void…"

Keten scowled a little at that.

"With the other typical methods of creation of an autonomous being unlikely, the conclusion must be that thou wert given life by the same source as she. The soul...to tear it apart would be a calamitous event most beings would not survive. But if the soul remained as one, in two bodies…"

Keten shifted uncomfortably. "But we are separate. Otherwise why would it hurt so--" they stopped, realizing it was a confession they'd uttered to only a few, and certainly not to him. Urianger looked at them sympathetically. It made them want to crawl under the table.

"Perhaps the separation is not complete. It would explain why you are both able to remain hale and whole, with such polarized aether."

Keten straightened in their chair, with a growing unease. "And what would happen otherwise?"

"Hast thou encountered the beings known as 'sin eaters'? An overabundance of Umbral aether causes the body and its functions to stagnate. As Astral aether causes uncontrollable growth, and hunger…so it is with creatures of the Void."

"Wait...what?"

Urianger took a breath, looking like he was bracing to repeat himself, but Keten leaned forward and continued.

"You're saying Imry's going to turn into one of those things??"

Urianger seemed pleased that they had been able to follow his explanation. "If that were so, it would have become evident long ago. The balance of aether in thy soul appears to remain intact. As long as it remains so...But that would explain why the Primordial Light in this world has not yet stripped away thy form."

"Oh, it's definitely trying." Keten folded their arms. "I was lucky I landed where I did."

"And I am grateful the Nu Mou extended their generous hospitality. If the pixies had found thee first--"

Urianger stopped abruptly, looking at the greatly diminished pile of pastries, then back at Keten, a strange expression on his face. They waited for him to continue at first, but soon grew uncomfortable under the scrutiny.

"What? I told you I was hungry because--"

Urianger coughed.

"Lor Kenn," he said, raising his voice. "And An Uin, Eo Hagan as well--show yourselves."

With a noise like ice falling from a tree branch into fresh powdered snow, something popped into existence in the air over the table. Three somethings. One of them zipped over Urianger's shoulder in a violet blur, emerging on the other side of his head to bob up and down by his ear.

"Why isn't it working!?" a tiny, bell-like voice demanded. "I don't like this smelly metal friend of yours! They're cheating!"

So that's a pixie. Keten leaned back a bit as one of the creatures darted close to their face, wings an iridescent blur.

"Ooh, I think they might be turning a little bit green at the edges?"

"Don't get my hopes up!" The third pixie stayed put over the table, but flung out their tiny arms and did a frustrated somersault in midair. "They've been that color the whole time!"

"I thought to warn thee," Urianger cut in, in a tone that sounded like he was restraining laughter, "but thou appeared to consume the first delicacy with no ill affects. Perhaps if thou art indeed starved for aether, the spell itself was also consumed before it could take effect?"

"Whaaaaat!?" the violet-colored pixie exclaimed, before Keten could respond. "That shouldn't be possible! My magics are impeccable! Robust! And you just…ate them??"

"It tasted delicious," Keten said with little affect. Surprisingly, this seemed to mollify the little being.

"I should hope so! After all, my enchantments are woven with the utmost care, and foresight…" The pixie fluttered over to hover by their companion, both staring curiously into Keten's face. They had large, unsettling eyes considering their diminutive stature.

The second pixie, whose body and limbs were a vibrant green, clasped their hands together. "If you're a friend of Urianger's, you'll play with us, won't you? He's very, very good at--ooh, what did you say your name was again?"

"Eo Hagan," Urianger said sternly. The pixie whirled around and stuck their tongue out at him.

"You're no fun!!! We hardly ever get visitors! Hardly ever! Don't you want your friend to stay here with you? Forever?" Eo Hagan finished the question in a sing-song tone, which was as cheerful as it was unsettling.

"More shall be arriving forthwith," he said, declining to answer the question.

"What? How do you know, how do you know?"

"Here I had presumed you three were eavesdropping."

The third pixie was now spinning in place, and tipped their head back to look at him. "Oh, we were, but it was all sorts of nonsense. A soul couldn't survive being split in two!"

#ketenbraena #I should...finish this fic

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enzelffxiv · 1 day ago

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Two bestiary illustrations I did for @ff14untamedzine , featuring Mammoth and Locksmith of Aurum Vale.

Fun ones to work with! For mammoth I wanted to try make a dynamic pose, which resulted in one chasing off some little gedans. I used my usual felt tip pens and watercolour for that one, but for Locksmith I decided to practice ink dip pen a bit again. I'm especially happy with the mouth area :D

#a realm reblogged

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enzelffxiv · 2 days ago

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